


Post and Purpose

by Spiner909



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Research Notes, SCP-like, Short, The Scion's B-team, character interactions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:06:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22165339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiner909/pseuds/Spiner909
Summary: The Scions at the Rising Stones receive an unexpected delivery. Story involves early Heavensward content and should not contain any major spoilers.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	Post and Purpose

"Hey!" the starry-eyed Doman girl cried, excitedly bouncing up and down, "Coultenet-san! Kairi-chan told me that Lady Yugiri can use magic, is that true?"

" _Baka_ ," another Doman youth scoffed, "that's _mudra_. Magic is for mages!"

The young girl glared at her counterpart, crossing her arms and pouting before turning to look pleadingly towards the Elezen man relaxing in the tall armchair, taking a lengthy sip of hot tea.

"Now, now," Coultenet sighed, placing his cup of tea back down on the side table. "Mind your manners, Keichi-kun. We should applaud a curious mind, instead of mocking it."

"Sorry," the boy mumbled, looking down and kicking his feet.

"Besides," Coultenet continued, clearing his throat, "Personally, I believe there might actually be some basis to the idea that a shinobi's mudra and an arcanist's magecraft may have some common ground."

"Really?" both Doman children asked in unison, their moods instantly picking up.

"Quite so," Coultenet nodded, offering a gentle smile. "I don't believe you'll have been taught this yet, but there are these magical...things, called ley lines, and they-"

A set of great, thudding footsteps and muffled voices from the entrance of the facility drew Coultenet's attention away before he could give voice to his words.

"Ho there, companions!" a booming voice cried out, a massive figure in white plate-armor knocking the Rising Stone's door open and parading through with all the care of a drunk auroch in a jewelry store.

"I have returned!" Hoary Boulder grinned, "And with a most surprising companion!"

"Hoary, you bloody oaf," Coultenet sighed, rising to his feet and greeting his fellow Scion with a withering glare. "Have you already forgotten that this facility has been attacked by hostile forces in the past? If you are to open that door any harder, you're like to knock it right off its hinges, not to mention nearly giving us all a heart attack!"

"Oh," Hoary winced, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Uh...right. Sorry, everyone. I guess I got a bit carried away."

"Goodness," a brown-haired Hyur woman said, entering the room. "What's all the commotion?"

"Sorry 'bout that, Higiri," Hoary chuckled. "Just me bein' a clumsy oaf, as Coultenet is like to say. I was just a bit too excited, and opened the door a bit too hard. You know, these doors we have really don't hold a candle to the ones in Limsa. Now those are doors built to handle Roegadyn!"

"That would be on account of Mor Dhona having a far smaller population of Roegadyn," Higiri smiled, dusting off some stray flour on her wrists.

"So?" Coultenet prodded, tapping his foot. "Who is this mystery guest of yours?"

"Ah!" Hoary exclaimed. "There I go gettin' carried away again. Anyway, it's the maddest thing! Thing is, I can't actually see them, but I know they're a good sort. Actually, they wanted to see you in particular, Coulty."

A moment of silence covered the room like a heavy blanket. Even the Doman children couldn't help but cast a pitying gaze towards the hulking Roegadyn.

"Hoary," Higiri said carefully, "You...you let an invisible person inside the Scion's headquarters?"

"...because you felt that you could trust them," Coultenet finished with a sigh..

"That's right, kupo!" a new, wispy voice exclaimed. A curious creature floated out from behind Hoary Boulder, twirling around in midair. "I knew he would be a good sort to help me out with my delivery!"

The creature was vaguely humanoid, resembling a cross between a bat and a ball of fluff, with a red pom-pom dangling above its head.

"A Moogle!" Higiri gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

"And a member of the esteemed post delivery service, no less," Coultenet added, nodding at the blue, peaked cap resting atop the floating fuzzball's head, along with the satchel bag resting across its torso. "I see...now it makes sense."

"What, you can see this guy?" Hoary questioned. "Huh. Wonder why I can't?"

"Some people can't see Moogles," Coultenet shrugged. "The mechanics are not well understood. But Moogles have a great affinity for stealth and illusion - in most cases, they can only be seen if they want to be seen."

"That's right, kupo!" the Postmoogle said, twirling in the air again, "and it's what makes us the number-one delivery service in Eorzea! Speaking of which, I have a package for you, Mr. Coultenet!"

Reaching into its satchel, the Postmoogle somehow procured a package tightly bound in twine, larger than could have possibly fit into the bag.

"Here you are!" the Postmoogle declared, his red pom waggling proudly in the air. "All the requisite fees have already been paid for by the sender. Thank you for using the Eorzean Postmoogle Express, kupo!"

The Postmoogle gave a professional nod, and with that, turned and floated away through the still-open entryway door, leaving a number of the Domans entirely speechless.

"Woah!" Hoary exclaimed. "Hey, where did that package come from, Coulty? One second you weren't holding it, then you were!"

"It seems that Moogles can extend their illusions to their clothing and belongings," Coultenet mused to himself, taking a seat and beginning to unravel the packaging. "Makes sense, I suppose, otherwise you would see a satchel and a hat floating through the air."

"A Moogle," Higiri said softly, "an actual Moogle. I had heard of them, on our journey here across the ocean...curious, mystical, and mischievous beings akin to _kami_. The reality is...quite different."

"The Postmoogles are the exception to the rule," Coultenet advised. "Most Moogles, at least in my experience, are disinterested in anything other than games or pranks. Or kupo nuts, I suppose."

"Wow!" Keichi exclaimed. "We've gotta tell Yugiri-san about this!"

The Doman children ran off together to find their friends, thrilled to have encountered such a creature unlike anything they had known in Doma.

"Well, I'm not really gonna pretend like I get it, but it's good, right?" Hoary laughed, moving over to clap his companion on the shoulder. "So, what'd ya get in the mail? Must've been important!"

"It's...a letter," Coultenet said, unwrapping the package to reveal a small stack of folders and documents. "Quite a few, actually. Let's see..."

Clearing his throat, Coultenet straightened his posture and began to read aloud.

"To Coultenet - much and more has happened in Ishgard and Dravania thus far. Some of my experiences are best left unsaid until I can return in person, but alas, the aetheryte of Ishgard is too many malms behind to warrant a journey at this time. Instead, I take this brief moment of respite, among the backdrop of my companions bickering, to prepare these notes for our archives. They concern the culture of a beast tribe that was previously unknown to the world at large. Please copy these down for our archives - feel free to improve on my medicore attempts at organizing my thoughts - and send a copy on to Urianger at the Waking Sands, as this also concerns their patron primal."

"It goes on for a while," Coultenet finished. "This will take me a minute to read through. Higiri, could I trouble you to brew some more of that herbal tea of yours?"

"Of course," Higiri nodded. "I am happy to help in whatever fashion I may."

"Reading's your element, Coulty," Hoary shrugged as Higiri turned and walked back to the kitchens. "So, I'll, uh...see to the door."

* * *

**NOTES ON THE GNATH AND THE PRIMAL RAVANA**

**Background:** Ravana is the patron primal of the Gnath, a beast tribe inhabiting the Dravanian Forelands, occupying territory in the Chocobo Forest to the east of the Vale, to the swampy riverland in the center, and the mountainous, cave-dense region of the south. The Gnath have only one major 'city' on the surface, made of towering mud-brick and stone spires, spewing smoke and steam, that rests at the foot of their mountain stronghold. The majority of their holdings are subterranean.

The Gnath are a bipedal, arthropod-like species with armored chitin akin to megalocrabs. They stand only a few ilms tall, about the size of a young Hyur. The Gnath are rather slow walkers, but their armored shells gives them some significant defense to physical threats. The Gnath are extremely unique in that they possess the 'Onemind', which is seemingly a sort of shared consciousness. This means that interacting with one Gnath drone is akin to interacting with _all_ other Gnath, simultaneously, as there is only one true mind among the many bodies. Much of our information regarding the Gnath and the Onemind come from a splinter group who call themselves Vath (Nonmind), who have somehow broken away from the collective consciousness and established independent thought and personality. These Vath have proven amicable to dialog and trading; I'll write more on them later.

In past centuries, perhaps even millenia, the Gnath have been a largely peaceful and isolationist group, residing underground and rarely venturing out from their subterranean lairs. It is my understanding that this isolation was brought on due to a fear of the dragons that saw the Gnath as little more than tasty, easy prey. It seems that the Gnath were quite afraid of the dragons, until one day, a skirmish between some dragons and Ishgardians brought a great dragon down, wounded, but not yet dead, crashing onto the home of Gnath, crushing their structures and kin alike. The Gnath emerged with an apparently suicidal fury, brandishing their steel weapons with the belief that the dragons had finally come to end them.

However, as they thrust their weapons into their wounded foe, they encountered almost no resistance, and found that their long-purported invincible enemy was in fact, quite mortal. It is not certain when this event happened, but I suspect it was a few decades ago. Since then, the Gnath have become far more interested in surface affairs. It should be noted that the Gnath have surprisingly advanced knowledge of metallurgy and alchemy. The Gnath produce alchemical concoctions that dragons find unbearably revolting, which they use to mark their borders in Dravania.

Gnath have a particular fondness and skill with firearms, to which they have employed to devastating effect against the once-untouchable dragons, who have come to be quite unwilling and even afraid of Gnath incursions. These firearms are unlike the arms employed by the newly founded Machinists of Ishgard which convert the user's aether into projectiles. Gnath firearms use a more conventional, powder-and-shot system that propels physical ammunition. This requires a lengthy reload and is somewhat inaccurate, but the Gnath's impossibly good coordination allow for perfectly coordinated volley fire and enfilades, as well as every Gnath being a possible spotter for another shooter. Leather and chainmail does little to protect against these firearms, though plate armor made of very sturdy materials will deflect the shots. Aetheric barriers also repel such physical projectiles with relative ease.

Now, finally getting on to Ravana...ever since their discovery of their draconic foe's weaknesses, the Gnath have been increasingly belligerent and expansionist, increasing their military and industrial might. They will attack the dragons, the hunters of the Chocobo forest, Ishgardian scouts, our own party, even passive wildlife that strays too close, like Ninki Nankas and sprites. In short, the Gnath are fiercely defensive of the territory they consider theirs. Unlike most primals, it seems that Ravana was not summoned out of desperation, but out of a desire to use his strength for conquest.

We have learned that the history and mythology of the primal affects their personality and behavior. Good King Moggle Mog XII was never a living Moogle, merely a legend, yet was manifested into a primal all the same. It is my belief that Ravana is a similar case. Though I questioned the Vath regarding the origin and first appearance of the primal, they seemed to have no idea, though they did mention the Gnath discovering caches of crystals among conquered Dravanian territory. This was almost certainly a ploy by the Ascians, intentionally left behind in easily-discovered areas to supply the Gnath with summoning material, since the Gnath would likely attack the Ascians on sight if they tried to negotiate.

**Appearance:** Ravana is a large, bipedal entity that is insectoid in appearance. His body is made of black chitin like that of a scorpion, and he has a large pair of horns on his head like that of a beetle. He has the vague appearance of a heavily armored Eastern samurai, so I wonder if our Doman allies may know of any legend or myth regarding insect warriors. With his four arms, Ravana wields a large, curved blade in each, akin to scimitars from Thanalan or katanas from the east. Ravana has a pair of large, dragonfly-like wings upon his back. He is capable of flight, although is not especially fast, and the wings seemed used more to enhanced his speed and control his movements on land.

(Note: I know I'm saying 'large' a lot instead of giving precise measurements. It was a bit difficult to measure at the time...thankfully, one of our party has artistic talents, and provided a sketch of the primal, which I'll attach now)

**Personality:** Ravana is a consummate warrior that lusts for the glory of battle and conquest. A victory is never enough to sate him, there is always the greater campaign, the next battle to plan. Ravana does not seem to demand worship among his summoners and is more like a general leading his army. Ravana has an apparent disdain for trickery and dishonesty, yet is practical and respects power and strength regardless of its form. Honor appears to be his most highly regarded characteristic, and it is why I can write you now saying that the threat of Ravana has been pacified, despite us not dispelling him from the physical plane.

Speculation: I am not certain that Ravana is willing to use his ability to temper mortals into serving him. It may be that he binds himself tightly to his code of honor and refuses to do so. As per the terms of our duel, if we lost, we would serve in Ravana's legions for the remainder of our lives, and it was implied that we would be expected to do so, rather than be forced to do so.

**Combat:** While Ravana's armored body is not especially fast, his four limbs can wield their blades with astounding speed and dexterity, capable of attacking and defending from any almost any direction, independently. Ravana had some way of seeing attackers behind him, fighting off multiple melee combatants from the front and side at the same time. Ravana's chitin armor is quite sturdy and took a significant pounding before it finally began to crack. His blades are extremely sharp, and for all purposes should be treated as unbreakable. A lancer in our party landed a potent downward strike upon the center of one of Ravana's blades that should have shattered any normal weapon in twain, yet it merely knocked the blade away. Ravana's limbs, however, can be severed. A fighter with a greataxe managed to sever an arm, denying Ravana one of his swords and severely weakening his ability to defend himself.

Of note is that Ravana's blades (partially) dissipated with him upon his defeat, instead of remaining in the physical plane. This almost certainly means that the blades are part of his character and mythos.

Ravana possesses some affinity with fire magic, though its destructive potential is somewhat lacking (paling in comparison to Ifrit). However, his flames tend to stick to the body and are surprisingly stubborn to extinguish, leading to distraction and vulnerability in combat. Ravana used his flames mostly to screen outgoing projectile attacks, and to zone and control the movement of his enemies. Ravana's blades can slash with such strength that it propels even the air, and he used this to great effect, using greats bursts of wind to knock combatants and projectiles around. Using his blades to create 'wind slashes' seemed to be his primary method of attacking from a distance.

**Tactical recommendation:** While I believe that Ravana will keep to the terms of our bargain and honor his word, should Ravana need to be fought again, I recommend engaging him from a distance. Ravana cannot quickly close a gap, and while his blades can deflect most projectiles, he is vulnerable to being overwhelmed when attacked from multiple angles. Melee attackers should focus on keeping his attention to the front, denying him the use of his blades to parry and deflect elsewhere. If possible, engage him in an open area rather than the confined caverns of the Gnath. Conjury should prove especially useful in extinguishing Ravana's flames and keeping the frontline fighters alive.

As a final note, know that Ravana revels in the glory of combat, considering it a sacred ritual. As our party fought, both inflicting and receiving wounds, Ravana's enthusiasm and ferocity only grew, the speed and strength behind his blows increasing. Fight carefully, and seek to strike a decisive blow before he can run wild.

* * *

"Fascinating!" Coultenet exclaimed, dipping the quill into the inkwell once again. "To think that such a primal would exist in Dravania, of all places. Higiri, do you have any knowledge some sort of relevant Doman myth or folktale? Something regarding insects, honorable combat?"

"Well," Higiri hummed to herself, taking a seat in another chair, "maybe. I remember about two years ago, during the rebellion...well, I had barely begun my shinobi training at that point. I said that I fought under Yugiri-san, which was was technically true as I did have to fight _once_ , but in truth, I was more of a medic. I looked after the wounded, tending to them with herbal medicine as best I could. Healing techniques like Eorzean conjury are rare in Doma, so I tried my best, but..."

Higiri trailed off, her thoughtful expression fading as her lips curled downward.

"I'm sorry," Coultenet said. "I didn't mean to bring up painful memories."

"It's fine," Higiri said, shaking her head and straightening her posture. "All Domans have suffered greatly under the heel of the Empire. I must appreciate the suffering that I _did_ manage to alleviate - those are the words Lady Yugiri told me during our voyage here. It...it was a time of great doubt and uncertainty for all of us. I am one of the few fortunate enough to be here now, so I must find the strength to continue on. It is what would be expected of any daughter of Doma."

Silence crept between them like a fog. Coultenet bit his tongue, uncertain of what to say.

"Well said," he eventually decided on.

"Right," Higiri said, summoning a smile. "Where was I?"

"Two years ago, you being a medic?"

"Right, right. I overheard a conversation between some wounded soldiers. With nothing to do but wait and rest, they were bored, and were discussing whatever they could think of. They talked about weapons, tactics, then their families and the different types of food they would look forward to having once they were out of the field hospital...eventually, they turned to talking about various myths. I don't quite remember how the conversation turned to that."

"That's fine," Coultenet nodded. "Do you remember what they talked about?"

"Somewhat," Higiri sighed. "It's been a long time. There was one story about ants...the ants were a weak group of creatures. They were constantly getting eaten by other ants, birds, even people, and kept losing their food and territory. Until one day, a soldier ant possessed of an unusually fierce spirit decided that it had enough, and went out alone to the hive of the enemy colony of ants. It charged into them and used its mighty jaws to tear the ants apart until it reached the queen, holding her head in his pincers, and told all of the other ants to submit to him and join his colony, or he would kill her."

"Go on," Coultenet prompted.

"Well, the soldier ant kept fighting," Higiri explained. "It fought until there were no other ant colonies to conquer. Then, he led his army of ants to fight against the beetles, who...well, I don't remember why he fought the beetles. They were stealing their leaves, or something like that. The ants took the shells off the beetles and used their bodies as armor, their horns as weapons. Then he led his forces against the birds, and beat them too. Every time he fought, he led his colony to greater glory, and they just kept getting stronger. Eventually, they even fought against people, and apparently the soldier got so strong that he thought even to challenge the gods themselves."

"I don't imagine they took too kindly to that," Coultenet mused.

"If I recall, Ravana - I'm pretty sure that was the name, though I admit it might be a false memory - was portrayed as the ultimate embodiment of evil. The gods criticized him for going too far with such mindless violence. In the end, he fought against one of the chief god's avatars in a duel, and lost. It was a close battle, though, and the chief god admired his opponent's skill. Ravana became the god of war, but had to agree to stop his personal conquests. His own tribe would go on to decline and fade into history, but he would guide and inspire many more warriors to greatness."

"Fascinating," Coultenet muttered. "But it's also truly bizarre. If this tale of Ravana is indeed the mythos that inspired the primal incarnation, how is it that it ended up in the hands of the Gnath?"

"I don't know," Higiri said softly. "I'm sorry I couldn't remember the tale more clearly."

"It's quite alright," Coultenet said, shaking his head. "It's a useful starting point, if nothing else. I'll make a note of this before I send a message to the Waking Sands, I'm sure Urianger will appreciate a place to begin his investigation. Anyway, this is merely conjecture, but I have to wonder if the Gnath's shared consciousness might play into it."

"How so?" Higiri asked.

"Do the Gnath take prisoners?" Coultenet asked. "If so, does their shared consciousness play any effect? It's not implausible that some Easterner with knowledge of this Ravana myth found his way into Dravania. Perhaps he then shared this tale with the Gnath...or was captured and his knowledge was... _integrated_."

"A disturbing thought," Higiri frowned. "Perhaps the Ascians planted the idea in the Gnath's mind?"

"That sounds like something they would do, though I'm not sure how they would approach a group as hostile as the Gnath," Coultenet nodded. "Though the idea of picking and choosing a compatible mythos to bring into reality as a primal...that's equally wondrous and terrifying."

"The idea that you can just... _believe_ such a powerful being into existence is a thought most Domans would never have even considered possible," Higiri said.

"A very concentrated belief," Coultenet countered. "Something the 'Onemind' would excel at. And thankfully, a massive amount of aether is needed to summon a primal. I can scarce imagine a world where godlike being could be summoned with thought alone. Although, I fear we are straying far into the theoretical. The mystery of primals is yet to be uncovered in its entirety."

"But we'll keep working until it is, right?" Higiri asked, smiling.

"Of course," Coultenet nodded, returning her smile. "I had wandered for a long time, before I joined the Scions. Before I met Hoary Boulder, even. I've always craved knowledge...knowledge of magic, knowledge of history. But a purpose? Something great to truly motivate me?"

"Well," Coultenet trailed off into a chuckle, his smile widening into a sly grin. "Protecting the world from vicious gods is about as good as a purpose as it gets."

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Ravana was a pretty cool fight to me. It was also where it was becoming particularly weird that we would fight these primals in trials with other people, and yet no mention of this was ever made, implying that the Warrior of Light beat all of them solo. Naturally, it require a lot more characters to have them all fight, and it would feel shallow if all they ever did was fight primals with you. So I imagine that the WoL has plenty of buddies and contacts in the adventuring business, and has a short list of fighters to rely on in a pinch. When the calls comes out, imagine the honor of going to fight with the famed WoL!
> 
> This also brought up the issue of primal tempering, which was introduced with Ifrit and Hydaelyn early on in Realm Reborn, and I don't think it's been brought up since. This was used to explain why primals were such a threat, because they could just mind control and permanently enslave you to their cause. I don't know if this story mechanic is going to be brought up again, but I'm imagining that the WoL, very powerful and blessed by Hydaelyn, has some means of extending the protection of the Echo to his nearby allies, preventing them from getting tempered.
> 
> I wanted to write this because I felt that the WoL was being portrayed as too powerful (doing practically everything by himself) and that the Scions weren't really doing much other than telling him where to go and what to fight next. So I leaned into the Scion's researching aspect and wrote something like an SCP report- the information the WoL gathered here can be used to research the primal and better their odds of defeating it in the future.
> 
> Also, Ravana's design and music are pretty dope.


End file.
